Anti-Bullying Bill Intended To Extend Protections To LGBT Youth Likely to Pass New Hampshire Legislature

02/10/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
New Hampshire’s legislature is likely to pass a bill which will add sexual orientation and gender identity/expression to the Pupil Safety and Violence Prevention standards for schools. According to the bill “One of the legislature’s highest priorities must be to protect our children from physical, emotional, and psychological violence by dealing with harassment, [including “bullying”,] intimidation, bullying, and cyberbullying in our public schools in order to prevent the creation of a hostile educational environment.” The bill is designed to stem the problems of bullying in the schools. While it is common to say that a child who is bullied should learn to be tougher, the reality is that bullying often causes severe emotional trauma to children and has been known to result in suicidal problems for many children and especially teens.

In 1989, a student who had been bullied committed suicide on the side steps of a high school in Brandon, Florida. While the bullying was not about the young man’s sexual orientation, it underscored a major problem with the bullying. Since then, there have been several high profile cases where a child committed suicide over harassment and bullying that the received either in school or through the internet.

The majority of the law is designed to define what is bullying, but also to create a rundown of what the schools would have to do in order to comply with the law. Despite what some anti-LGBT opponents of this bill might say, nothing in the law actually calls for additional teaching or materials to be inserted into the curriculum. “Nothing in this chapter shall require the inclusion of any curriculum, textbook, presentation, or other material designed to prevent bullying, harassment, intimidation, or cyberbullying in any program or activity conducted by an educational institution. The omission of such subject matter from any curriculum, textbook, presentation, or other material in any program or activity conducted by an educational institution shall not constitute a violation of this chapter” What the law will do is set up a method of educating “school employees, regular school volunteers, parents, legal guardians, relative caretakers, or employees” and give an opportunity for parents and students to learn the signs of bullying of all kinds.

While the law is specific to sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, it is meant to amend laws which are already on the books regarding other forms of bullying.

HB 1523